Camera safari -- in our back garden
AS ENTHUSIASTIC amateur wildlife photographers, my wife Rosemary and I have shared 55 travel adventures all over the world since meeting 12 years ago in Jordan.
We have 60,000 photos depicting our journeys, covering 100-plus countries overland and on cruises and most of the major island groups. We must have circled the globe several times. However, this year, after a trip to India in January, we have been unable to go on our usual travels because of the lockdown. But that hasn’t meant we have stopped taking wildlife photos.
We have discovered that our 20 ft x 20 ft patio is teeming with wildlife. The paved and walled back garden is an L-shape and, by gardening standards, it’s tiny. Over 12 years, we have built on what was a good basic structure of shrubs and a few pots to create a haven of tranquillity during lockdown. All the plants have excelled themselves this year, from the climbers — clematis, summer jasmine and rambling rose — to fuchsias and hydrangeas, plus numerous pots of osteospermum, dahlia and roses.
Our biggest challenge is when temperatures soar — wilting plants are a constant headache.
You would think that in such a small space, wildlife wouldn’t get a look in, but not so. There is a constant stream of birds flying in and around the garden, many of which are tame, with colourful insects and cheeky squirrels raiding the bird feeders.
To take my wildlife photos, I use a Lumix CZ60 camera with a 35x Leica lens. Lumix make the best range of pocket cameras and by choice, mine is an older model.
I take bird and squirrel photos from the back door, which is 15 ft away.
Insect photos were a bit of an experiment. I first tried with the macro setting, but the best results were achieved by using the standard default auto setting and getting as close as possible without blurring. The bee on the pink flower was taken from nine inches away, which kept the photo at maximum sharp focus. I then cropped it to produce a dramatic close-up.
Any garden of any size and style is a constant source of joy. Ours certainly is and may yours be so, too.